Police in Egypt are investigating pictures showing a naked couple embracing at the top of the Great Pyramid.

Photos of photographer Andreas Hvid, 23, and the unidentified woman are said to have been posted onto his website and included in a YouTube video he shot while climbing the Giza heritage site monument.

These are no longer on the YouTube site but others have saved it, and shared it widely on social media.

It is believed to show the Danish snapper and his friend climb the 4,500-year-old pyramid, smoke cigarettes and then gaze down at the city of Cairo.

The clip allegedly cuts to the woman stripping off her shirt, and then morphs into a still image of the two lying together naked as the sun comes up.

The Great Pyramids of Giza are 4,500 years old and important tourist attractions (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

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“Based on what was circulated and published yesterday evening in a short video film depicting two foreigners climbing the pyramid at night, and then put a picture of them violating public morality, the minister of antiquities, Khaled al-Anani, has decided to find out the truth and immediately refer the incident to the deputy attorney-general for guidance to investigate the matter,” the Egyptian government told CPH Post.

Just climbing the pyramid is considered an illegal offence and the Egyptian authorities are investigating the incident. It’s also illegal to be naked in public in Egypt.

"This is very disrespectful, shame on you," one social media user wrote.

But Mr Hvid told Ekstra Bladet, a tabloid in Denmark: "I'm sad that so many people have become so angry.

"But I have also received a positive response from a lot of Egyptians - something I think is worth remembering."

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Mr Hvid describes himself in his YouTube profile as an "urban explorer" and many of the images on his Instagram, Flickr and other social media feeds feature him at the top of buildings in places around the world.

Others pictures on his photography website, most of which feature women in unusual places, are labelled "nude".